Soft, pillowy, and perfectly spiced, these Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting practically melt in your mouth! Easy to make with no chilling required, they’ll quickly become your go-to recipe.
These soft pumpkin cookies are an old family recipe and staple in our house every year once September hits! Loaded with pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg, they truly taste like fall in every bite. They are also great made a day in advance, so they’re great for a party.
With no complicated steps or dough chilling required, these cookies come together quickly. My kids love helping to bake them every year, especially when we slam the cookie sheet on the counter to flatten out the dough!
“These frosted pumpkin cookies turned out so soft and decadent with tons of spice and pumpkin flavor. The icing on top really finished them off perfectly – my family thought they tasted way better than the ones from Crumbl. The dough definitely is softer than I am used to for cookie dough, but they baked up perfectly thick and fluffy! “ — Haley, busy mom of two and passionate home cook and baker.
Key Ingredient Notes
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Oil or Butter: Use melted and slightly cooled butter OR a mild baking oil, like canola oil or vegetable oil. I tested this recipe both ways and prefer using oil as the cookies turn out softer and moister.
- Flour: Fluff the flour, then measure it by spooning it into a measuring cup. Don’t dip the cup straight into a packed bag of flour – that results in using too much flour and overly dense cookies!
- Pumpkin Puree: Make sure you’re using canned or homemade pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling, which is already sweetened and spiced.
- Cream Cheese: I like to use regular cream cheese (not low fat) for the best thick consistency. Make sure it’s fully softened before using, so you don’t wind up with lumpy icing!
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg: I used a combination of ground cinnamon and nutmeg, but you can use 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice instead.
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Visit the printable recipe card below for full directions. Below you’ll find all my helpful tips.
Do not over mix the cookie dough! This dough is more similar to a cake batter, so over mixing it will create overly dense cookies. Once the dry ingredients are added to the wet, mix until just combined, and you no longer see any streaks of flour.
Don’t skip the cookie scoop! This dough is incredibly soft and sticky, which means using your hands to shape the dough will get messy fast. I use a medium cookie scoop to easily scoop the dough and keep all the cookies evenly sized.
Bang the tray full of cookie dough HARD on the kitchen counter. Yes, really! It flattens out the dough just enough to help them bake into thick, soft cookies – not mounds.
Bake careful not to over bake. Even if they look a little pale on top, pull them out when the edges are just set. Over baking will dry them out, and part of their magic is how pillowy and moist they stay.
Let cookies cool completely before frosting: If the cookies are even a little warm, the cream cheese frosting can melt and slide right off. Patience pays off!
Room temperature frosting ingredients are a must. To get that ultra-smooth frosting, make sure both your butter and cream cheese are fully softened. Cold ingredients will make the frosting lumpy.
Add a festive touch. A sprinkle of cinnamon on top of these pumpkin cream cheese cookies makes them look bakery-worthy!
Flavor Variations To Try
- Add Nuts: Sprinkle some chopped candied nuts on top of the icing or stir in 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter.
- Frosting Alternatives: Not a fan of cream cheese frosting? Try the glaze from my pumpkin oatmeal cookies for a lighter option or sprinkle them with powdered sugar. Bonus: these options do not need refrigeration when storing.
- Cookie Sandwiches: Like my pumpkin whoopie pies, make pumpkin cream cheese cookie sandwiches by placing a layer of frosting between two cookies.
- Sweet Potato Cookies: This recipe works just as well with mashed sweet potatoes.
Once topped with the cream cheese frosting, you will need to refrigerate these cookies in an airtight container. They will stay tasty for up to 5 days.
I recommend letting them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes (or up to an hour) before enjoying, but some readers enjoy them cold. So you can give them a try them both ways!
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
- 1 cup vegetable or canola oil, or melted and cooled butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar, or brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for garnish, if desired
- 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar, add until desired consistency/firmness
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together pumpkin puree, oil (or melted and cooled butter), and granulated sugar. Add egg and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture in two batches, beating until well combined. I find this easiest with a hand mixer, but you can use a whisk and a little elbow grease.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (about 1 tablespoon of dough), drop the dough onto prepared cookie sheets leaving room for spreading. Firmly hold the cookie sheet on each side and bang it on the countertop (or a towel on the countertop) a few times to flatten the cookie dough. Using a cookie scoop is important to keep them round and even as this dough is *very* soft.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are set. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat together cream cheese, butter, cinnamon and vanilla until well combined. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
- Generously frost on top of each cookie and dust with extra cinnamon if desired. Serve immediately and store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
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More Must Make Fall Recipes
- Pumpkin Pie Cookies: Sugar cookie bite-size pumpkin pies!
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies: With a surprise cheesecake center.
- Pumpkin Cake: This cake is always sure to impress your guests.
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins: Over 2000+ 5-star reviews!
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles: So perfectly soft and chewy.
- Pumpkin Bread: This bread is a reader favorite every year.
- Pumpkin Bars: Topped with sweet cream cheese frosting.
- Pumpkin Crisp: Served warm with ice cream on top.
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Excellent pumpkin cookie recipe. I used brown sugar and oil instead of granulated sugar and melted butter. They came out puffy, soft, and moist. Thank you for this great recipe!
These were easy and turned out to be just what we were looking for in a pumpkin cookie recipe. They were moist, flavorful and just the right amount of sweetness and spice. The cream cheese frosting just made them perfect. I made them with my teenage daughter and she was able to do most of the work and could probably make them on her own next time. We are definitely saving this recipe—it’s a keeper!
So glad you all enjoyed them Meg! Love when we can convince the kids to help!!
can I use butter instead of cream cheese for the frosting?
Yes, if you prefer a buttercream frosting over cream cheese frosting – go for it!
Anything with cream cheese has my heart, and these did NOT disappoint! One of my kids accidentally spilled some of the pumpkin puree on our carpets, but it’s nothing that a carpet cleaning can’t fix! Nothing can deter me from making these again, thank you for the perfect fall cookie.